


Learn To Show Your Love

by syriala



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Banter, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fluff, Humor, Idiots in Love, M/M, Snark, Team as Family, assholes being boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 06:18:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7879774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syriala/pseuds/syriala
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve gestured between Tony and Bucky. “I was just asking why you couldn’t be more…friendly.”</p><p>“Uh-uh, Steve, you asked why we couldn’t be friends. Tell him, cryofreeze.”</p><p>“You tell him, Tin Man, why do I always have to do all the talking? It’s like you’re incapable of forming words that are not just for show.”</p><p>“And you are oh so sweet with your voice?” Tony teased. “It’s not like you could form full sentences when you came here.” Steve seemed ready to just walk away.</p><p>or</p><p>the one where Bucky and Tony are total assholes to each other in public.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Learn To Show Your Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DreamcatchersDaughter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamcatchersDaughter/gifts).
  * Translation into Русский available: [Учитесь выражать любовь](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8831065) by [Red_Sally](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Sally/pseuds/Red_Sally)



> So this is for dreamcatchersdaughter, because it's her birthday today! She is such a sweet person, utterly adorable even though she says she isn't and an absolutely amazi g friend <3 I hope you have a wonderful day and that you enjoy the first part of your gift ;)

„I just wish you would get along better,“ Steve said after he had stopped Tony in the hallway and Tony stared at him. There wasn’t any context necessary, this could only be about Bucky and him, but still.

“What?” he asked because those words sure as hell didn’t make any sense. Especially not at this hour of the day.

“I hoped you two would, you know, be friends or something.”

“Yeah, or something,” Tony snorted and Steve flinched. Like it was honestly that bad that Tony and Bucky were together.

Steve hadn’t been all that supportive to begin with, but Tony had never thought that he would spin this around and now make Tony feel like he did something wrong with this relationship.

“Why can’t you just be friends,” Steve pleaded with him and now there was the usual anger whenever Steve said something about Tony’s and Bucky’s relationship.

“Get over it, Steve, Bucky and me, we will never be _friends_.”

Sure they had skirted that edge, but in the end they tumbled right over that cliff into relationship territory and they were both happier for it. Tony had no idea why Steve couldn’t see it.

Steve’s face looked pained, like someone had just gutted him and Tony had to remind himself that he could seriously hurt himself hitting a super soldier.

“What’s happening here?” Bucky suddenly asked from behind him and Tony turned around.

“You tell me, asshole,” he greeted Bucky and had to suppress the small smile that threatened to take over his face.

Bucky considered him with a raised eyebrow before he turned to Steve without really acknowledging Tony.

Steve gestured between Tony and Bucky. “I was just asking why you couldn’t be more…friendly.”

“Uh-uh, Steve, you asked why we couldn’t be friends. Tell him, cryofreeze.”

“You tell him, Tin Man, why do I always have to do all the talking? It’s like you’re incapable of forming words that are not just for show.”

“And you are oh so sweet with your voice?” Tony teased. “It’s not like you could form full sentences when you came here.” Steve seemed ready to just walk away.

“This, see, this is exactly what I mean, you two are constantly at each other’s throats and I cannot take it anymore. I thought you two could get along, two peas in a pot after all, but you are always so vicious when you are together,” Steve declared and then turned around to storm away.

They both stared after him before Bucky turned towards Tony. “What the hell was that?”

“No clue,” Tony admitted and he felt so, so tired.

“Come here,” Bucky said and gently pulled Tony into a hug, which Tony took shameless advantage of.

“I don’t understand why he disapproves so much,” Tony mumbled into Bucky’s neck and Bucky kissed his temple. “He tried to set me up with guys before you came along. Hell, he’s been flirting with Sam since forever. So it cannot be homophobia.”

“So you have noticed him flirting, too, huh? Sam doesn’t believe me that Steve is missing him like crazy right now,” Bucky said but then he sighed. “Did you really think it was homophobia? From Steve ‘we have to go to every pride parade we can find’ Rogers?”

“It has to be something.” Tony fell silent for a second. “You think he is jealous?”

“No. Like you pointed out, he has been flirting with Sam since he met him. We never were like that and you said you once made a pass at him and he rejected you, so jealousy doesn’t make any sense.”

“But I don’t understand,” Tony whined and Bucky nuzzled his temple.

“I know, sweetheart, I know. Me neither.”

“I wanna go back to bed,” Tony complained and Bucky huffed a laugh.

“You didn’t even make it into the kitchen for your first coffee.”

“Exactly. So technically I am still not awake and can go back to bed. And I want you to join me,” he pouted and Bucky laughed.

“Alright, love. Let’s go.”

~*~*~

“Why can’t you just do what I tell you to?” Tony screamed at Bucky who seemed ready to punch him in the face.

“Your call is not always the best,” Bucky yelled back and Tony seethed with anger.

“You could have get hurt, going that way, that building was about to come down, as you would have known _if you would just listen to me_!”

“But it didn’t and I saved some poor bastards life, so what’s it to you?” Bucky shot back and Tony clenched his fists. “You don’t know everything, especially not with all your tech. You are no soldier and you prove time and time again that you simply cannot make important calls.”

“You are a reckless, completely stupid son of a bitch and I want you removed from the team,” Tony demanded and turned to Steve.

“Guys, please,” he said soothingly. “Let’s talk about this okay?”

“We are talking about this,” Bucky said and turned back around to Tony, obviously ready to tear into him again.

“No, you are screaming at each other. Maybe we should all take a few minutes to cool down,” Natasha threw in and promptly left the room.

“Yes,” Steve nodded. “Get changed, take a shower, and we meet for debrief in twenty.”

He didn’t wait for confirmation, but stormed out of the room, closely followed by the rest of the team, so that only Tony and Bucky were left.

They stared at each other for a few moments, both still breathing heavily, before Tony sighed.

“I was scared,” he admitted. “You could have died there.”

“I know, love, but I didn’t. And that man needed saving.”

“But you don’t have any armour. Why didn’t you let Thor or me go in there, we’re better protected.”

“There was no time, sweetheart, and you know it,” Bucky softly said and took Tony’s hand. “I made it out fine. You can relax now.”

It was only then that Tony realized that he was still tense all over, and he forcefully relaxed his posture.

“Don’t do it again, okay?” he whispered and Bucky pulled him closer.

“Can’t promise that and you know it. It’s why you love me.”

“Among other things,” Tony said and lightly kissed Bucky. “But at least give me a warning next time, can you do that?”

“I’ll try to remember that,” Bucky agreed and Tony knew that this was all Bucky could do.

“Come on now, we only have fifteen minutes left, before Steve wants to glare at us some more.”

“If we shower together we can make it,” Tony said with an eyebrow waggle and Bucky chuckled.

“Sure. If you really believe that we will get _everything_ done in those fifteen minutes,” Bucky replied and winked at him.

“We can get started right now,” Tony whispered against his lips and pressed his thigh to Bucky’s crotch.

“It’s the living room,” Bucky said with a moan. “Shower, now.”

“As you wish,” Tony replied laughing and they raced each other to the bathroom.

~*~*~

“That movie is absolute bullshit,” Bucky said and the Avengers groaned.

“It’s not my fault you don’t have any taste,” Tony shot back without even looking away from the screen and Bucky turned to him.

“This is simply stupid. No one would win a war like that. It’s idiotic, and reckless.”

“Then you should be all too acquainted with this form of war,” Tony said and a small, pleased smile played around his mouth. He loved arguing with Bucky.

“We might have been reckless, but at least Steve had a plan.”

“That makes you fifty percent better than these people. And it’s not like it worked out for you, is it?” Tony asked and Steve gasped.

“Guys, can you just stop it for one evening,” Clint begged them, but now it was on, Tony could see it in Bucky’s eyes.

It didn’t only mean that there was a big argument coming, but also that the sex tonight would be spectacular. It was his favourite kind of foreplay.

“Excuse me, but I think I get to say something to that, too,” Bucky told Clint, and then focused back on Tony. “At least it worked half for me. What excuse do you have?” he asked with a pointed look at the Arc reactor and now even Natasha looked uncomfortable.

“Bucky, maybe you should…” she started but Tony interrupted her.

“No, let him talk. I wanna know what he has to say about this.”

“You do, huh? No surprise there, I bet you wilt away when the focus isn’t on you for a second.”

“Honey, the focus is on me no matter where I go or what I do. I don’t need to fish for attention the way you do. It comes naturally to me,” Tony said with a saccharine voice.

Clint sighed and pressed the pause button. “I don’t think we’re getting anywhere with this tonight,” he mumbled and Thor and Bruce nodded.

“You need to stop for one damn night,” Steve told them, voice stern and Tony raised an eyebrow at him.

“And why do you think you get to have a say in this?”

“It’s affecting the team moral. You need to get it together.”

“We’ll get it together once Bucky admits that your leadership wasn’t the best and at least I got away after three months. It didn’t take me seventy years to remember my own name.”

Steve visibly paled and Bucky’s mouth did that very telling curling thing that meant he was having the time of his life.

But before Bucky could shot back with something, Steve abruptly stood up.

“I cannot listen to this,” he said, voice small and low, and then he left.

“What just happened?” Bucky asked and looked at the remaining team mates.

“He doesn’t stomach it very well when someone makes jokes about Bucky’s torture,” Natasha gave back and followed right after Steve.

Bruce, Thor and Clint got up as well, not without throwing some serious glances at Tony and Bruce actually stopped to whisper “Apologize” to him.

Bucky and Tony both stared after them.

“What just happened?” Bucky repeated and Tony shrugged.

“No clue? Seems like Steve is still seriously upset about what happened to you?”

“Yeah, well, it would be nice if he could let it go. I did after all.”

“Maybe it takes him a bit longer?”

“Longer than it took me? It’s not like it happened to him. And I make remarks about this constantly. You’d think he would understand someday that this is not triggering for me. He was the one to tell me about coping mechanisms after all.” Bucky groaned and flopped down on Tony’s lap. “He drives me insane. Not enough that he disapproves of our relationship, now he also is upset with how we cope?”

“I don’t know, honey,” Tony said and carded his fingers through Bucky’s hair. “Maybe we should talk to him?”

“I don’t like that we should have to justify our relationship.”

“Me neither,” Tony agreed and bend forward to press a kiss squarely on Bucky’s forehead. “But maybe it’ll make everything easier.”

“But I don’t want to,” Bucky whined and hid his face in Tony’s stomach.

“He surely ruined the mood, didn’t he?” Tony sighed and Bucky lightly bit him.

“We can always make sweet and tender love,” he said and peeked up at Tony.

“But I was actually hoping for passionate and athletic sex.”

“Tell you what,” Bucky said and pressed himself up until he was barely grazing Tony’s lips. “Why don’t you make sweet and tender love to me and then I’ll cover the part for passionate and athletic?”

Tony leaned forward to capture Bucky in a firm kiss and when they broke apart he whispered “Sounds like a solid plan to me. Maybe you should have done the planning in the war.”

Bucky had to laugh so hard he fell back down on Tony’s lap.

~*~*~

In the end Steve cornered them before they could talk to him.

Jarvis had informed them about some Avengers business and that they please should come to the debriefing room.

When they arrived, everyone was already there and they were looking very serious.

“Is the world about to end?” Bucky asked and took a chair.

“No,” Steve said. “This is an intervention.”

Tony’s eyebrow shot up. “For what?”

“For you,” Natasha said. “We are tired of your constant fighting.”

“So we have a plan,” Thor added and Clint nodded along.

“And either you come out as friends or one of you is dead,” he continued when Thor stopped.

“Well that sounds reassuring,” Bucky said and threw Tony a glance.

“I own this very removed cottage,” Bruce explained. “And we’re gonna drop you there for at least a week. No internet, no technology, no other people. Just you two. You really have to learn to get along.”

“Eh, guys,” Tony started but Steve interrupted him.

“No more buts. We are supposed to be a team. And we cannot be that when you two are constantly at each other’s throats. We have yet to hear one of you say a nice word about the other; your constant fighting is wearing team moral down and it will not go on like this. Either you learn to at least accept each other or one of you leaves the team.”

Bucky and Tony both stared wide eyed at Steve.

“And your solution to that is to send us into a removed cottage,” Tony clarified.

“Oh boy, do we even have enough lube?” Bucky asked in a staged whisper and then looked startled around when there were audible gasps. “What else do you think we’d be doing?”

“Oh my god, I do not want to imagine you doing the hate sex,” Clint groaned and Tony frowned.

“Guys, what are you doing? You know we’ve been together since forever. What has gotten into you?”

Everyone fell silent at once.

“What is happening here?” Bucky asked and that finally jolted Nat out of her stupor.

“You two are together,” she stated, like she was trying the sentence out and it didn’t quite fit.

“Have been for almost six months, come on, you know that.”

“We know no such thing,” Thor finally said and now all the stares made more sense.

What didn’t make any sense was how the whole team could have missed their relationship.

“I have been living on Tony’s floor for the last four months. We had sex everywhere in this tower. How can you possibly not have noticed that?” Bucky asked them and he was really baffled by that.

“But you hate each other,” Steve exclaimed and Tony shook his head.

“No? I don’t know where you got the idea, but there is love involved here.”

“I don’t believe you,” Bruce said and Tony gestured at the ceiling.

“Jarvis, pull something up,” he ordered, didn’t even bother to ask for a specific scene, and Jarvis brought up the last team night, where Steve, and then the rest, had left so abruptly.

Jarvis replayed the last few moments of their argument but he kept going after all the Avengers were gone.

Tony watched himself and Bucky cuddle on the couch and when they kissed he looked at his team mates. There was genuine surprise on their faces and he simply couldn’t believe it.

“There are two master spies on this team. We haven’t been hiding anything. How is it that none of you noticed this?” he incredulously asked and shook his head.

“You…look real happy there,” Steve eventually said and Bucky threw him a glance that very clearly meant “Well, duh.”

“But you’re yelling at each other every chance you get,” Clint said and threw his hands up.

“We like to rile each other up. It’s not our fault you missed the cuddles afterwards,” Bucky shot back and Clint groaned.

“Please don’t tell me this is some strange form of foreplay.”

Tony threw another pointed glance at the frozen image that was still hovering in the air and Clint threw his hand over his eyes.

“Oh my god, no.”

Steve blushed but he asked “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“First of all, it’s not our fault you have not been catching up on this. We weren’t hiding anything. Secondly, I didn’t think we’d have to send around a memo regarding our relationship.”

“But you are so vicious with each other. Clearly that was below the belt,” Steve said with a nod towards the screen.

“Does that look like he hit a nerve?” Bucky asked him. “Look, Steve, I know you still feel guilty and horrible about what happened to me, but I’m over it. It’s time you get over it, too.”

“Wow,” Bruce breathed and then laughed. “You were teasing each other, oh my god, you two are emotionally stunted idiots.”

“What can I say, it’s how I show my love,” Tony said and Bruce doubled over with laughter.

“To be honest, this makes a lot of sense,” Natasha finally admitted. “I’m happy for you, then.”

“Thank you,” Bucky said and then stood up. “If you would, love,” he said and tucked Tony up too. “I think we were promised a week in a remote cottage.”

“It falls on our anniversary,” Tony said with a small pleased smile and Bucky nodded.

“I know. I can adjust my plans. Can you?”

“Sure,” Tony said easily with a shrug. Then he smirked. “My present only needs batteries anyway,” he then said with a little wink towards Clint who sprung up.

“Get out! I do not want to hear about your sexcapades, my god, I am too young and innocent for this.”

Tony laughed out loud. “I think teasing them will now be my favourite thing. Sorry, Buck, you simply cannot keep up.”

“We’ll see about that,” Bucky said and suddenly pulled him into a kiss that left Tony breathless.

“Okay, we believe you, now keep it to yourself,” Natasha said with a smile and then got up.

“After that is cleared up, how about another attempt at movie night?” she asked and was met with enthusiastic responses.

The only one who was still sitting in his chair was Steve. Tony and Bucky waited till everyone cleared out before they turned to him.

“Shell-shocked?” Bucky asked and Steve gave a vague nod.

“This is not what I had been expecting.”

“You gonna have a problem with this?” Bucky asked and that startled Steve into action.

“Of course not!” he declared. “It’s just…I never considered this. It’s a bit of a surprise. In my head you hated each other five minutes ago. Gimme a sec to adjust to that.”

“Fair enough,” Tony allowed and then clasped Steve’s shoulder. “We really were only teasing each other. We’re not breakable and we can talk about what happened to us, you know.”

“Okay,” Steve nodded and then firmer, “okay. Good to know. Should’ve probably realized that earlier, but I got it now.”

“And that’s all that counts. So, you’re coming?” Bucky asked and pointed at the door. “I heard there’s one last movie night before we go on vacation.”

“I’m really happy for you, you know that right?” Steve asked before they finally left the room and both Bucky and Tony nodded.

“Now you only have to work on showing it,” Tony teased and Steve punched him lightly in the shoulder.

“Sure, right after you learn to show your love,” he shot back.

“Don’t encourage them,” Clint yelled from the living room and they all started to laugh. It seemed like adjusting to this wouldn’t take any time at all.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[PODFIC of] Learn To Show Your Love by syriala](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11573088) by [CheyanneChika](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheyanneChika/pseuds/CheyanneChika)




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